Steel Products Prices North America

June Steel Import Licenses at 2 Million Tons

Written by Brett Linton

July 16, 2020

Recently released license data shows June steel imports at 2.01 million net tons, up 12 percent from May, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Finished steel imports in June are currently at 1.47 million tons, down 3 percent from the previous month. Imports of semifinished products (mostly slabs) are at 540,000 tons for June, up from 300,000 tons the month prior.

July import licenses are currently at 1.49 million tons, with approximately 860,000 tons being semifinished and 640,000 tons being finished products.

Note: The January, April, July and October import figures are unusually high as a result of buyers seeking to max out quarterly quota limits on semifinished products. For the remainder of each quarter, final semifinished imports are significantly lower. Due to these month-to-month swings, SMU has ceased monthly import “trending” projections and now only shows unadjusted figures as reported by the Commerce Department. As shown in the figure below, finished steel import levels are much less volatile and more accurately display the U.S. steel import trend month-to-month.

To explore import by product data within our interactive graphing tool, you can visit our website. Contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com if you have any questions.

Brett Linton

Brett Linton is a senior analyst for Steel Market Update, where he began his career. Linton has been in the steel industry since 2010. He has held roles as a category manager and strategic insights director at Reibus before returning to SMU in 2024. He is a graduate of The University of North Georgia with a degree in Finance and Accounting. Brett can be reached at brett@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-314-0179.

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